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Recovery Run and an Unexpected Reward

Posted Oct 19 2009 12:00am

My normal routine is to take a slow Recovery Run on the morning following my weekly Long Run. At 5 AM this morning, I had to force myself out of bed to run. Normally, I can't wait to get up and run, but I ached more than normal, from the cumulative effect of Sunday's Long Run, followed by working in the yard all afternoon, followed by cycling in the evening. I finally convinced myself that even a short run would help the soreness subside more quickly, and to at least run 1 ½ or 2 miles. I didn't get on the road until 5:40, 10+ minutes later than normal. Running was uncomfortable at first, but got easier as I warmed up, and I decided to go 2 miles. At about ¾ mile, I got an unexpected reward: I saw a meteor streak overhead, making a long, bright trail of light through the dark sky as it passed. I felt pretty good by the end of the run, and my soreness was gone by the afternoon; this was the reward I expected from today's run. The next time I'm tempted to stay in bed, I hope to remember that a day missed may also result in the loss of an unexpected reward. (Run stats: 2.0 miles, 24:12, 12.10 pace.)

I've always been interested in astronomy; with a little research online I found that every October, the Earth passes through an area of space containing rock fragments and dust left by Halley's comet. This results in an annual Orionid Meteor shower. The peak dates for this year were predicted to be October 16-27. The debris is actually very close to Earth, but the meteors are called "Orionid" because from Earth, they appear to originate from the direction of the constellation Orion. On the morning of this sighting, I had noticed that the constellation Orion was very prominent in the night sky, and the meteor did indeed seem to come from the general direction of Orion.